Baseball fans looking for a nearby professional game to attend may struggle to find one this week.
The Atlanta Braves and Gwinnett Braves are both out of town for the majority of the week, each taking a road trip before their All-Star Breaks the following week.
Atlanta’s road trip begins at 7:05 tonight at Wrigley Field in Chicago, where the Braves visit the Chicago Cubs for a three-game series. Atlanta is 2-1 against the Cubs this season.
The projected starter for the Braves is Jair Jurrjens, who is 6-6 with 2.73 ERA. The 23-year old is coming off a solid performance against the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday, where he pitched a two-hitter with six strikeouts in seven innings pitched.
Javier Vazquez (5-7, 3.04 ERA) and Kenshin Kawakami (4-6, 4.25 ERA) are also expected to make starts in the series.
After the series with the Cubs, Atlanta travels to Coors Field in Denver for a three-game series with the Colorado Rockies, with Game 1 beginning at 8:40 p.m. Thursday. The Braves are 2-2 against the Rockies this year.
Like its MLB counterpart, the Gwinnett Braves are also on the road this week.
After finishing up a home series with the Norfolk Tides at 7 tonight at Gwinnett Stadium, the G-Braves visit the Durham Bulls for a three-game series. They then hit the road again, this time for a three games with the Charlotte Knights.
Those looking for local baseball will have more options than finding a game at the professional level.
The Gainesville A’s American Legion team wraps up the final leg of its regular season with two home games this week at Ivey-Watson Field.
Gainesville plays host to Douglasville at 7 p.m. Tuesday, then welcomes Conyers at 7 p.m. Thursday.
After a 3 p.m. doubleheader at Alpharetta on Sunday, the A’s begin play in the American Legion State Tournament on July 16.
The Gainesville Travelers are also at home for two home games this week at Hog Mountain Sports Complex in Flowery Branch. They play host to Georgia Sports Academy’s Macon Giants on Wednesday, and the Windward Red of Cumming on Saturday.
Gainesville also visits the Augusta Nationals at 5 p.m. Thursday, and is scheduled to play the North Central Florida All-Stars on Friday at Smith Field in Athens.
The Travelers play in the Great South League, a wood bat summer league for college players. Graduates from area high schools include North Hall grad Josh Wright, Gainesville grads Zach Bennett, Blaine Martin and Justin Fordham and Flowery Branch grads Justin Pagano and Patrick Henry.
On the golf course, the PGA Tour’s John Deere Classic begins Thursday and lasts through Sunday.
The event is hosted by TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Il. The winner’s purse is $4.3 million. Last year’s winner was Kenny Perry.